A San Bernardino County Sheriffâs Department proposal to take over policing in the city of San Bernardino would reduce the size of the force by 39 employees, but cost about roughly the same or more.

The city had requested the proposal in November to look for potential cost-savings as it grapples with bankruptcy.

City Attorney James Penman released the 14-page document Friday, Jan. 11, a week after The Press-Enterprise filed a Public Records Act request.

The proposal estimates the total cost for the Sheriffâs Department at $69.9 million, which includes $8.7 million in one-time start-up costs. The document estimates $53.1 million in ongoing annual costs but that does not include overtime, fuel and vehicle costs, which the city would be billed for separately.

Those costs â" about $8 million â" bring the total sheriffâs proposal, minus start-up costs, at $61.8 million.

An August budget documented stated that the current fiscal year budget for the police department is $62.2 million, which includes overtime, fuel and vehicle expenses. However, Penman said budget cuts have reduced the budget to $54 million.

San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris said he is withholding judgment until Police Chief Robert Handy prepares his own analysis of the proposal, which is scheduled to go before the City Council Jan. 22. He acknowledged there did not appear to be a great amount of savings.

The sheriffâs proposal would also reduce total personnel from 359 to 320. Sworn personnel would go down from 270 employees to 251. Most of the reductions would be at the management levels, with the number of patrol officers actually going up by one to 174. The report is unclear on why the costs would be greater.

In a Dec. 26 letter to the city, then-Sheriff Rod Hoops said the departmentâs goal would be to employ as many of the cityâs personnel as possible, but they would also be required to complete a full background investigation as well as physical, polygraph and psychological exams.

Sheriff John McMahon, who took over the department Dec. 31 following Hoopsâ retirement, has taken no position on the proposal. He has said itâs up to the City Council to decide if it would benefit the city.

âI think the numbers and the report pretty much speaks for itself,â Shorett said. âIt would not be beneficial at this time to do that.â

He added, however, that the city had a responsibility to explore the option and should continue to do so for other departments where it may be able to save money.

The report doesnât examine the potential cost to the city of switching pension systems. Police employees are part of CalPERS, the state retirement system, but the county has its own system.

Penman said separation costs could be in excess of $100 million although he said he couldnât provide more details on how that figure was arrived at.

The idea of disbanding the cityâs police department provoked controversy with many residents speaking out against even seeking a proposal from the sheriff at the City Councilâs Nov. 5 meeting. The council vote was split 4-3 then.

The San Bernardino Police Officers Association has lobbied against the idea while Handy has said that he believes his department continues to provide an effective service despite budget cuts.

As part of budget-saving measures, the department has reduced some of its pro-active policing programs and seen an increase in response times to lower-priority calls.

Steve Desrochers, a board member with the police officers association, said the police departmentâs 102-year-old legacy and ties to the community could not be duplicated.

âWe have a lot at stake in the city, even those (officers) that donât live here,â he said. âI think it would be a horrible thing to lose the agency and bring in the sheriffâs department.â

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